El Santo
Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), best known by his ring name El Santo (English: "The Saint"), was a Mexican luchador enmascarado (or masked professional wrestler), actor and folk hero. He is one of the most famous and iconic Mexican luchadores, and has been referred to as one of "the greatest legends in Mexican sports". His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in luchador films and comic books telling fictionalized stories of El Santo fighting for justice. He starred or co-starred in at least 54 movies between 1958 and 1982.
El Santo | |
|---|---|
El Santo, c. 1960s | |
| Born | Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta 23 September 1917 Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico |
| Died | 5 February 1984 (aged 66) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Resting place | Mausoleos del Ángel, Mexico City |
| Spouses | María de los Ángeles Rodríguez
(m. 1942; div. 1975)Mara Vallejo Badager
(m. 1981–1984) |
| Children | 11, including El Hijo del Santo |
| Family |
|
Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Demonio Negro El Enmascarado Hombre Rojo Murciélago Enmascarado II Rudy Guzmán Ruddy Guzmán El Santo |
| Billed height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Billed weight | 95 kg (209 lb) |
| Trained by | Black Guzmán |
| Debut | 1934 or 1935 |
| Retired | 1982 |
| Part of a series on |
| Professional wrestling |
|---|
During his career, he mainly wrestled for Mexican promotion Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, where he won the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, Mexican National Middleweight Championship, Mexican National Tag Team Championship with Rayo de Jalisco, Mexican National Welterweight Championship, NWA World Middleweight Championship and the NWA World Welterweight Championship. Early in his career, he worked under a variety of ring names both masked and unmasked, before becoming El Enmascarado de Plata ("The Man in the Silver Mask") in 1942.
Santo's brothers were also luchadores, with Black Guzmán being the first to make his debut and later Pantera Negra and Jimmy Guzmán joining as well. Only one of his eleven children followed him into professional wrestling, El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of the Saint") making his debut in 1982. In 2018, WWE inducted him into their Hall of Fame in the Legacy category. El Hijo del Santo's son made his debut as "Santo Jr." in 2016. Another grandson (not a son of El Hijo del Santo) originally wrestled as "El Nieto del Santo" ("The Grandson of Santo"), but now works under the name Axxel.
Santo is said to have popularized professional wrestling in Mexico just as Rikidōzan did in Japan. He was buried in his silver mask, in one of the biggest funerals in Mexico. Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre honors Santo with the Leyenda de Plata ("The Silver Legend") tournament.